ITV plc

Structural note: On July 6, 2026, ITV plc agreed to sell its Media & Entertainment division (ITV's free-to-air channels and the ITVX streaming platform) to Sky, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, for total consideration of up to £1.6 billion. The deal excludes ITV Studios, ITV's production arm, which will become a standalone, separately London Stock Exchange-listed company once the transaction closes. As of this entry, the transaction has not completed; it is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2027. Comcast has separately announced its own intention to spin off Sky, together with NBCUniversal, into an independent company by mid-2027 (see the Comcast Corporation and Versant Media Group entries in this database); ITV's own transaction documents state that Sky and ITV's M&E business are expected to form part of that spun-off NBCUniversal entity once both transactions complete.

Overview

ITV plc is a British media company headquartered in London that holds 13 of the 15 regional Channel 3 broadcast licences making up the ITV network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. As of this entry, ITV plc operates through two segments: Media & Entertainment (M&E), comprising its television channels and the ITVX streaming service, and ITV Studios, a global content production and distribution business. ITV plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index.

Portfolio

• Free-to-air television channels, including ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITVBe, and CITV.

• ITVX, ITV's advertiser-funded streaming service, reported to have 16.5 million monthly active users.

• ITV Studios, a production and distribution business operating across more than 13 countries, responsible for programs including I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

• Under the terms of ITV's pending sale to Sky, ITV Studios will also gain Sky's Love Productions business (maker of The Great British Bake Off and The Piano), valued at £200 million.

Ownership

ITV plc is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange with no controlling shareholder; ownership is dominated by institutional investors, which collectively hold roughly three-quarters of outstanding shares. As of April 2026 disclosures, the largest holders were RWC Partners Limited (approximately 9.1 percent), Silchester International Investors LLP (approximately 7.9 percent), and BlackRock, Inc. (approximately 7.4 percent). Liberty Global had been ITV's largest shareholder through much of 2025 before substantially reducing its holding.

History

ITV plc was formed on February 2, 2004, through the merger of Granada plc and Carlton Communications, consolidating regional ITV franchise holders that had combined over the preceding decade following the relaxation of UK broadcast ownership rules in 1994. The ITV network itself began broadcasting in 1955. ITV plc later acquired the Channel Television franchise (2011) and UTV, the ITV franchise for Northern Ireland (2015). In 2023, ITV sold its 50 percent stake in the BritBox International streaming joint venture to partner BBC Studios for £255 million. On November 7, 2025, ITV confirmed it was in discussions with Comcast-owned Sky about a sale of its Media & Entertainment division; the two companies agreed terms on July 6, 2026, for a transaction valued at up to £1.6 billion, expected to complete in the second half of 2027.

Leadership

• Dame Carolyn McCall has served as Chief Executive of ITV plc since January 2018.

• Andrew Cosslett has served as Chairman of ITV plc since September 2022.

Location and contact info

Headquarters
London, England, United Kingdom
Website. https://www.itvplc.com